


GLITCHED

by 13shiftingshadows



Category: Original Work
Genre: Alternate Universe - America, Alternate Universe - Dystopia, Alternate Universe - Future, Counterparts - Freeform, Drama, Fighting, Future Fic, I'll tag as I go, M/M, Male Slash, Multi, Original Story - Freeform, Psychological Drama, Rebellion, alternative universe
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-20
Updated: 2019-06-21
Packaged: 2020-05-15 06:21:38
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,805
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19289986
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/13shiftingshadows/pseuds/13shiftingshadows
Summary: All Joel wanted was to fit it with the society. Just another cog in the the great machine that was Paradise city. Blending in with the crowd and never being noticed as he made his way through life.To think that a chance meeting with a strange masked boy would change all that.Maybe he should have stayed in bed.





	1. Chapter 1

###  CHAPTER ONE

  
\---  
  
When Joel woke up that morning, he had expected the day to be just another one.  
  
His common alarm kept blaring and blinking with red numbers, which only turned green again whe he dropped his hand on the OFF button, shutting it up for good.  
  
Brown eyes stared at the numbers.  
  
 **07:01 a.m.  
**  
Perfect, normal time to start the day.  
  
Getting out of the bed, from the right side and stepping first with his right leg, to start the day in the right way. Heh. Pun intended. Humming to himself, he made his way to the bathroom. Tapping twice on the faucet, the warm water started to flow and he gathered some on his hands, splashing his face to chase away the little sleep that still clung to him like a parasite. He would not be one the succumb to sloth! Nu-uh.  
  
Drying his face, he dared to look at the mirror.  
  
His reflection stared back. Brown eyes, common. Round, childish face... he was sure to grow the baby fat that still clung soon. Pink lips on a pale face... maybe he needed to spend more time in the sun. Nobody was this deathly pale!   
  
And his hair... Black, a bit spiky and getting a bit too long. Time to hit Mira's house and ask for another cut. He couldn't go around looking like one of those rebel kids from the slums. That would gather the wrong attention and unwated murmurs. No need to have more of those on him.  
  
With a sigh, he clapped twice and the lights shut down.   
  
It was better when he couldn't see his own reflection.   
  
Grabbing his backpack from the hanger in his room, Joel skipped out, letting the automatic door close behind him and taking the stairs in steps of two. He'd rather not be late to his classes. And he still had to be social with his adoptive family and eat breakfast! All before 8:30. He needed to be on the bus station by then!  
  
"Good morning." Was the polite call he did as he slipped into the dinning room, where the rest of his 'family' was gathered, all having breakfast. They were grommed to perfection, not one hair out of place and clothes that were all black with fine details in gold, showing off their status as a high class family.    
  
Joel couldn't help but look down at his own garments as he sat down on his designated place in the table.   
  
"Good morning Joel, i hope you had a good night of rest?" From the head of the table, his adoptive father spoke, lowering the semi transparent tablet where he was reading the news. The man looked like someone who had came out of a business magazine, dressed sharply and with his greying hair slicked back. His stormy blue eyes were framed by a pair of glasses that made him look more intellectual. Not that he wasn't. He was a CEO after all!  
  
Still, Joel felt warm spreading over his cheecks in shyness as he could see the way his father's eyes were filled with kindness. He didn't deserve it. He still didn't do something to deserve such gaze.  
  
"Of course he didn't." From Joel's  right side, the gruff voice of his adoptive, older brother came, cutting off whatever words had tried to spill from Joel's lips. Van was looking down at him with the same stormy blue eyes than his father, only that his were cold and it made Joel feel like crawling under a rock, just to escape the gaze. "He was whimpering and screaming all night... again."  
  
Lowering his head in shame, Joel tried to make himself as little as he could. He probably kept his adoptive brother and sisters awake with all the noises that the nightmares could rip from his throat.  
  
"Dad, you said that he would stop doing that once he started going to therapy!" his older sister, Kayla huffed as she pushed some of her food around in her plate. She had an annoyed frown. "It's been weeks and he's still a whimpy mess! I can't keep with this! it's messing my beauty sleep!"  
  
"I didn't hear anything." The soft voice of Lily was like a balm for Joel's soul.   
  
Lily was the youngest of the house. A little flower that shared her father's acceptance towards everything. She didn't judge and didn't care if someone yelled in the night. She only cared that her new brother looked sick, like her dad did when  he worked too much. She didn't wanted to see him like that, because when the adults were sick, they couldn't play with her.  
  
"I'm sorry..." Joel whispered softly, taking an unappetizing bite of his cereals. They were soggy... maybe he should have gotten up a bit early. Checking his clock, he saw the hands pointing that it was already 8:00 am... it was a fifteen minute walk to the bus station. But he could go now. "Thanks for the breakfast. I should head to classes now."  
  
Raising from his seat, he picked the backpack again, having dropped it beside his chair. He gave a weak smile to the little girl and a light bow of his head to the rest of the family, finally taking notice that his adoptive mother wasn't around. She probably headed to work earlier. He didn't wait for a respose as he made his way out of the dining room and into the foyer, where he put on his sneakers and started to tie them.  
  
"Joel, you should eat some more, i can drive you to the college."  
  
The sudden presence of his father behind him startled Joel, making him jump on the spot. He turned and only met the blue eyes for a second before he was lowering his sight again.   
  
"T-t here's no n-need. I'll eat more in t-the lunch and i prefer to take the bus." he stammered, gripping the straps of his backpack tightly as he backed towards the door. With a click, it slid open and Joel risked one last glance towards his father. The man's expression showed concern and a bit of hurt as the door closed.   
  
Maybe he should have accepted.  
  
It was too late now.  
  
His feet carried him to the elevator and out of the building at a fast pace. His mind shut down the outside noise as he focused on walking. Around him, the city buzzed with life. People passing, coming and going down the sidewalk, talking loudly or just minding their own business. Some bumped into Joel's small frame, but he didn't register it.   
  
His mind was going over today's schedule, body moving by memory towards the bus station.  
  
This was just another day.  
  
Until he collided with someone and tumbled to the floor.  
  
His head hit the paved ground and ripped a hiss of pain from his pink lips and forced his eyes to shut down tightly, missing the concerned look on the face above him. Or the hands that reached out, plucking him from the floor. Only when he was standing again, unsteady and still reeling from the pain on the back of his head, did Joel dare to open his eyes.   
  
The first thing he noticed was the black and bright neon green hoodie that the person before him was wearing. It stood out like like a light in a sea of black, grey and gold.   
  
 _"Must be crazy to wear something like that here."_   Joel thought as he tried to get his body to steady. He was going to be late.

"Are you ok?" The guy asked.   
  
Joel stared at his face as he felt the other guy's hand holding him by the shoulders, lending some help in keeping his stance steady. Black eyes meet Joel's own, under a fringe of black and neon green hair.  
  
"Your hair is dyed... the Enforcerers will chase you down."  
  
That was not what Joel wanted to say, but the words spilled from his mouth without a filter. The guy tilted his head, amusement clear on his dark eyes and thin lips. Pale skin and pink, thin lips... and scars that traced his face.   
  
A slum guy.  
  
He couldn't be seen with them. Not again.  
  
Taking an unsteady step back, Joel shook his head lightly and took a glance at his clock and then at his surroundings. He was five minutes away from the station and only had 3 to reach it in time.   
  
"Hey, look, i'm sorry, i wasn't looking where i was going..." he guy's voice was strange. Like he forced it to be in a normal tone. Joel didn't like it.   
  
"Sorry, i gotta go." he said swiftly and ducked around the strangely dressed guy, who tried to speak again, but Joel was already sprinting down the block, wanting to put as much distance as he could between himself and the slums guy.   
  
Only when he reached the bus stop, Joel took notice that he was on the verge of an axiety attack and so, he counted backwards from 100 as the bus pulled up. Just in time.   
  
With his breathing going back to normal, Joel used his card, paid the fee of the ticket and went to the same seat he always used. Last row, left window. There was nobody else sitting back there. Not many people used the bus anymore.   
  
Resting his head on the window, Joel counted the minutes till his stop, recalling briefly the face of the guy he had bumped into.  
  
He couldn't help but wonder...  
  
What was a slum boy  doing in the High City?

 

\-----

 


	2. Chapter 2

College was uneventful.  
  
Joel's mind had many opportunities to wander back to the green clad guy from before. A million of questions flew through his head as he barely paid attention in class and just jolted down a few notes. The most prominent questions had been why was that guy in the city?  
  
As joel picked up his stuff, he tried to find a reason. Some sense.  
  
Usually, the people from the slums never dared to come up to the city, afraid that the enforcerers would take them to the central facility for 'rehabilitation' as they liked to call it. In the eyes of the government, the slum people were like animals, violent and ready to steal and hurt other just because they could.  
  
In joel's eyes, it was the government who behaved like that.  
  
But he would never voice that out loud. Hell, he was even afraid of thinking it.   
  
Shaking his head, he made his way down the hallways of the college, ignoring the people around him just like they ignored him. He was used to it. And he had better things to focus on. Reaching his locker, he dropped inside the tools and books he would be taking home, for he had no use for them.   
  
 _"Maybe he had a pass and came to visit someone?"_  
  
It was the only coherent solution. The only reason why the other had been able to walk so freely around the city for who knows how long. And that also explained why his clothes didn't seem torn or overused. The jacked had seem almost new! he probably was the distant relative of someone who raised up in power from the slums to the city.   
  
Yet the scars....  
  
 **STOP THINKING ABOUT IT**  
  
Joel felt a wave of nausea hit him like a fright train and he rushed to the nearest bathroom, emptying the miserable contenents of his stomach down the toilett. His temples hurt like someone had smashed his head repeatedly against a wall and he was sure he was on his way to a migrane.   
  
What the fuck?  
  
That had almost felt as if someone had screamed right on his head, tearing all thoughts and shredding them to pieces, leaving only open scars.  
  
 _"This happend before..."_  
  
But it had been a long time ago and he shouldn't think back to those dark days. It never ended well.  
  
Coming out of the stall, he almost cursed when he came face to face with his adoptive brother.  
  
Van was resting against the opposite wall, arms crossed and a nasty expression on his face. Like disgust mixed with disdain. His pale blue eyes pinned Joel in the spot, who could only wring his hands nervously on the strap of his backpack, waiting for whatever the eldest had to say. He flinched when the other clicked his tongue.  _Here is the part where he insults you and demands to know why the fuck you freaked out._ But how the hell could he explain that he was hearing voices?   
  
Voice.   
  
Just one.  
  
Always.  
  
That wouldn't do. It would only piss off the other more.  
  
Van already hated him for all the attention he seem to steal from their father. Van's father. Not yours. You have no father.   
  
Ever since he joined the family, when he was 12 years old, Van had it against him. When he had started living with them, the older would push him around and steal whatever toy Van's father would give Joel. He would ignore him when they went to any place and in school, he would bully him along with his friends. All bigger and stronger than Joel. And worst of all, he couldn't really go and complain with Van's father. It would only make things worse for both himself and the Elliot's family. He didn't want to be the reason why the family didn't get along. They seem to have been doing great without him around...  
  


The door of the bathroom closed with a sharp snap, making Joel flinch again, as he hadn't expected the other to just leave like that. His knees felt week as he took a weak step. All the tension on his body was gone, leaving him feeling like a melting jelly. It wasn't a nice sensation. At all.   
  
His body had coiled itself like a spring, ready to wistand the beating that his brother might give him, only to realize that it wouldn't happen. But why didn't happen today, when any other day, his erratic behaviour would have granted him the fury of his brother? Maybe the other took pity on his poor state.  
  
Joel threw a fleeting glance at the mirror, horrified to find that his skin had become more pale than usual and his eyes were bloodshot as if he had been crying all this time. He approached the sink and splashed some cold water on his face, hoping against all hope that it would change his pathetic looks at least a bit.  
  
It didn't.   
  
He tried again and another time. Just to make sure.  
  
 _"Enough, not even if you drown yourself, you'll be able to change. It was set on stone that you'll be like this. Useless."_  
  
Stopping before he could attempt for a fourth time, Joel let out a pathetic whimper. The throbbing of his head was reaching a new level.  
  
It had been time to call it a day and get the fuck back home, where he could shut himself in his room and pretend that the pain and the happenings of the day never happend. That it was all just a dream.   
  
There was nobody to say goodbye or see ya later. No frieds. That was his rule. So it was easy to make his way unnoticed out of the college grounds and towards the buss stop. Yet, as he approached the bench, he took notice that nobody was around. Usually, there would be five or four people waiting for the same bus as him. It took him a second to realize what was happening and he almost felt like hitting himself against the nearest pole.   
  
Checking his clock, he felt more miserable.  
  
It was 7:30 pm.  
  
Almost an hour and half before the curfew started... and he was two hours away from his home. There was no way that he would make it in time without bumping into an enforcerer patroll or something like that. Maybe he could find a place to stay the night or call home?  
  
 **But you don't even remember the number ID.**  
  
Fuck.  
  
Maybe if he ran, he could make it?  
  
 **Only one way to find out.**  
  
He started to run.   
  
There were few people on the streets, hurrying to their homes either by feet or in vehicles, but sure as hell, none of them would stop to help him. Joel was sure of it. Nobody cared for others that were not related to themselves. They were faceless people that wouldn't care if he was taken to Rehabilitation or killed in the streets. He was just another kid stupid enough to forget that he needed to be home before sundown.  
  
 **Just one less mouth to feed.**

God.  
  
Please let him make it home.

  
**\----------**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here it is, the next chapter.  
> I know it's shorter than the previous one, but they will get longer as i get a hang of writting this story. I'm not very confident about my writting skills, since i've mostly done scripts for roleplays and comics and nothing really serious.
> 
> Still, i wanted to get a hang of Joel and his world, without going into a lot of details, since they will be get more presense later on and get better explained.
> 
> As you can see, Joel is.... a very depressive character and i really gotta be on the mood to write him. I get like that sometimes and i can't bring myself to write in that state, for i know how bad it can affect me.
> 
> But this story is about growth and changes. Specially of the emotional kind.
> 
> This story will touch some particular themes that might upset people, so i'll be sure to drop warnings.
> 
> Thanks for reading.
> 
> See ya.
> 
> Zappy

**Author's Note:**

> AAAAAAAAAAnd, that's chapter one for now.
> 
> I'm very anxious about publishing this story once and for all. This has been my little project for at least a year and half now. I've designed the characters and they have grown and changed the more i drew them. And so did their story.
> 
> This was the final draft.
> 
> I had troubles thinking of the settings. Where this would happen? Should it be in present time or in a distant future? should it have romance or not? there were a lot of questions and a lot of changes in the characters.
> 
> I will be posting the character refs as the story goes, so i don't reveal them all in one go.   
> (and because i haven't passed them from traditional to digital yet.)
> 
> Feel free to drop comments if you want. Any feedback about my writting skills are welcome, as well as corrections. 
> 
> See ya soon with the next chapter.
> 
> Zappy.


End file.
